Click on the video to see how Zero Trust can bring peace and contentment to the IT function.
by: VMware Information Security Strategy Director Craig Savage
Enterprises are incredibly complex ecosystems existing in incredibly complex (and global) business environments. That means there is a lot that can go wrong during any given day—especially with the constant threat of bad actors always looming—in addition to the constant demand for new services to keep the enterprise competitive.
Most of these Herculean tasks fall on IT security personnel, and as the past few years have proven, they are up to the challenge. In general, enterprises across the world weathered the unexpected and truly devastating impacts of the pandemic, among other disruptions—and even thrived. The same was true for new business services, with case studies from companies like Zoom and VMware proving enterprise IT can create and deploy solutions customers need most.
All these factors created a ‘hero culture’ within the IT function, one in which personnel are expected (and assumed) to always make heroic efforts to deal with any new crisis. And while this is true, the fact is decision makers outside the IT realm don’t realize what is really going on behind the scenes.
Constantly being the ‘hero’ is an unsustainable business model. People burn out, much of which is due to the substantial time and effort wasted on one-off projects.
There is a better way.
Saved by zero
Over the past few years, VMware IT implemented a Zero Trust architecture for its operations. This revolutionary approach drives common models and architecture frameworks so that projects are completed once and then reused multiple times on demand.
But that’s not all.
Standardization makes software easier to understand, easier to maintain, and significantly less expensive for the corporation. Those cost savings are derived from Zero Trust’s remarkable simplification of processes—and are realized on a variety of fronts including upgrades, labor, and deployment. This is a milestone accomplishment as complexity (and bureaucracy) have always been the enemy of any healthy enterprise ecosystem.
Implementing Zero Trust frameworks is also an ideal way of future-proofing the enterprise since the foundational architecture remains constant regardless of how much technology changes.
Discovering the peace within (the workplace)
Zero Trust architecture changes forever the way IT tools and IT security personnel approach enterprise challenges. Now, they can be heroes and enjoy perfect work/life balance. Even the most demanding situations are handled with maximum efficiency and effectiveness since every system and process is designed to be proactive, not reactive, and ready to implement on the spot. That means there are never any true ‘surprises,’ even when something as totally unexpected as a global pandemic appears out of the blue. It also means teams can focus on mission-critical tasks that make the most of their talents, instead of wasting hours and days redoing the same one-off projects repeatedly.
This all might sound like theory or a ‘wouldn’t it be nice if …’ pipedream, but VMware IT and IT Security have proven it to be a rock-solid reality. For example, when the pandemic forced companies to go remote virtually overnight, our teams were ready. More than 30,000 employees and contractors were migrated to work-from-home arrangements in a single weekend. Even more surprising, VMware realized some of the highest software delivery quarters ever during the height of the shutdowns, including the quarter we went remote.
While our personnel put in many hours at first, Zero Trust made all their efforts worthwhile. Busy work and duplication of tasks were eliminated, and the reusable models made quick work of responding to request after request. Team members were still able to have a life outside of work while delivering the most powerful solutions in VMware history. This is still true today, even though the constant demands for new and better apps, as well as the nonstop threats of bad actors, are unceasing.
Burnout can finally become an artifact of the IT past.
Zero Trust is a fascinating and multifaceted topic, so contact your account manager to request a briefing with one of our IT experts or contact [email protected] to learn more. In the meantime, check out our other Zero Trust blogs.
We look forward to hearing from you.
VMware on VMware blogs are written by IT subject matter experts sharing stories about our digital transformation using VMware products and services in a global production environment. To learn more about how VMware IT uses VMware products and technology to solve critical challenges, visit our microsite, read our blogs and IT Performance Annual Report and follow us on Twitter. All VMware trademarks and registered marks (including logos and icons) referenced in the document remain the property of VMware.
